Turfway Park provides daily selections and comments for the Tribune during the live racing meets.
Wednesday, Dec. 28 – picks brought to you by Mike Battaglia
KIMSTRONG drops back to the bottom after a solid runner up effort against better. She looks best in the opener. MARTHA ROSE just missed last out and has the tactical speed to be in contention throughout. SLAZARRA is a definite contender.
RACE 2
SHESWHISTLINGDIXIE ran evenly in her debut at Churchill and should move forward. Give her the edge in a weak maiden claimer. PRINCESS HEART was no match for a runaway winner last out but is the one to beat in here. PROMISE ME SNOW comes off of a solid effort and rates a chance.
RACE 3
CHARMING CLARE is a lightly raced three year old from the Maker barn. She exits several tough allowance races on the grass and will be hard to beat if she takes to the Poly. TEXAS SPECIAL has the advantage of a good race over the Turfway surface. She will be running at the end and looks like a solid contender. LOVE THE KITTEN comes off of a game maiden win on the Churchill dirt and also race will on the Turfway Poly back in April.
RACE 4
ARTIC SKY likes this track and appears to be in a good spot to pick up the win for Keith Kinmon with Lezcano back aboard. BLUEMYMIND is another one who runs well at Turfway and he figures to get a good trip from the inside post. NO TIME TO KID fits in here.
RACE 5
JOE FLYER comes off of a sharp win over this track and also got his maiden win here last year. Look for him to make it two in a row with Johnny McKee back aboard for Bill Connelly. SHOTENOUGH TO POP also won last out here at Turfway. That was his first race back after a six month layoff and he looks like the main competition. SQUEEZE THE KING rates a chance.
RACE 6
ORBITAL FLAG just missed last out. She drops back in for a tag and stretches out to a more favorable distance tonight. Give her the slight edge in what looks like an extremely well matched claiming race. ELEGANT MODEL comes off of a couple of dull efforts but returns to the Turfway Poly where she has won two of her three races. Look for a big improvement this evening. QUIGLEY’S CORNER has been off since September but her best would make her a solid threat.
RACE 7
WHATTHECATDRUGIN ran poorly last out when blinkers were added for only the second time in his 65-race career. They come back off tonight and he is capable of a much improved effort. DOURO also comes off of a dull effort but he beat the top pick here on opening night and has to be considered. APOCALYPSE rates a chance.
RACE 8
MONGOL BULL has been hooking some of the toughest turf sprinters in the country and has performed well in most of his races. The Poly is a definite concern but if he handles the footing he figures to be very tough to beat in here. ATTAIN has been off since January but came off of an almost identical layoff to win last December in New Orleans. He has trained well for Kelly Ackerman, who has excellent numbers with his returning runners, and he looks like a solid contender. COPPERPLATE has the advantage of a start here at Turfway and can’t be dismissed.
RACE 9
SKY HI SUGAR comes off of two even efforts against much better. The drop to the bottom is a bit puzzling but anything close to those last two races makes her a winner against this bunch. ITSALLBOUTTHEBASE and LAND have both been running well at this level.